The present invention relates to a reinforced, lockable zipper closure system. More specifically the present invention relates to an improved heavy duty slider body system comprising various components such as a unitized, reinforced slider body, an eyelet cast in the body, a slider body pull with releasing pull clip, simple repair of pull tab and a seam lock.
Zippers are used as closure devices for many common items such as garments, furniture and sporting goods including sleeping bags and tents. Luggage, sports bags and other products using locking zipper systems require heavy duty, lockable slider bodies. Some lockable slider body systems require the joinder of a pair of eyelets and an external lock inserted across the docked eyelets. Other systems use openings at the ends of the pullers to receive a lock. Sometimes a single slider body is used with a D-ring where the slider body""s eyelet is locked to a D-ring mounted on a stationary object at the end of the zipper track. These traditional alternatives do not fit flush and are subject to excessive torque forces.
A zipper assembly traditionally comprises two opposing stringers, one or more slider bodies and a pull tab for each slider body. The stringers contain interlocking elements or teeth. The slider body has channels that span each of the opposing stringers. When the slider body is pulled along the stringers"" longitudinal axis, the teeth close or open depending on which direction the slider body is pulled. A pull tab is used to facilitate the pulling of the slider body.
The pull tab has a gripping end and a connector end. A traditional method of attaching the pull tab to the slider body is to have the connector end of the pull tab formed to be an eyelet and to have an extrusion of the slider body secure the connector end. This extrusion is called a bail.
The bail is shaped like an arch and has a forward leg and a rear leg. The rear leg is manufactured in a slightly raised position. The pull tab connector is traditionally secured to the slider body by placing the pull tab connector eyelet under the raised bail leg and then the leg is squeezed closed thus securing the pull tab connector. Once secured, the pull tab pivots about the bail thus facilitating pulling the slider body in either direction.
Alternatively, the pull tab connector end is formed from flat stamped steel having opposing, inward pointing ears with a gap between the ears. The ears are inserted into indentations on either side of the slider body. The ears are then squeezed together closing the gap enough to secure the pull tab to the slider body. A bail that is deformed in order to secure the pull tab has been stressed and thus more likely to fracture. Pull tab ears tend to pull out of the slider body indentations with minimal torque force.
The slider body has, in addition to the bail and lock eyelet, a bottom and top plate and a slider body box or, as frequently referred to in the industry, as the slider body diamond. The bottom and top plates are in horizontal planes. The slider body diamond, located in the front of the zipper, lends strength and stability to the slider body. A lock eyelet is optionally mounted on the top plate in the front. The bail, shaped as an arch, is mounted on the top plate toward the rear.
Heavy duty zippers such as those used with luggage are subject to a lot of stress. These types of applications typically use zinc die cast slider body with a bail. The process of closing the bail to secure the pull tab causes stress and may cause cracks in the bail making it subject to fracture while in use. Repairing this type of breakage is costly and difficult. If the components of the slider body are reinforced so as to mitigate stress fracture, the zipper is prone to damage when external forces, such as mechanical baggage handlers, abuse the zipper. If the pull tab does not yield to excessive force, then other components of the zipper, such as the stringer, bail or lock eyelet may be damaged. Repair of such damaged components usually require expertise and tools not generally available at a retail shop. Often the luggage or other product to which the zipper is attached has to be sent away for repair or replacement. Repair, even if done at a retail location, requires substantial wait by the customer. Immediate repair is rarely available or practical.
Luggage zipper slider body systems are often designed with an eyelet to match up with a D-ring or a second zipper with a second eyelet so that a lock may be applied across the two eyelets (or eyelet and D-ring). Inserting a lock introduces another point where failure might occur in the zipper slider body locking system, particularly if the eyelets do no match up in a flush manner.
Areas of failure occurring with heavy duty zippers subject to substantial torque and shear force are: 1) the bail holding the pull tab connector eyelet; 2) the lock eyelet, particularly when a torque force is applied to the lock; and 3) the top and bottom slider body plates which may pull away from the slider body diamond. Traditional, heavy duty zipper slider body locking systems begin to fail at about 20-25 inch pounds of force at the bail, 12-15 inch pounds of rotational force at the eyelet, and 60-80 pounds force applied to the top and bottom plates. The stringers and the tape holding the stringer may also fail, but usually failure at the bail, lock eyelet, bottom plate or top plate occurs well before the 200 pounds of static force required to damage the stringers and the stringer tape. Heavy duty pull tabs rarely fail.
It is desirable to avert failures at such levels of force. Increased bail strength, lock eyelet reinforcement as well as bottom and top plate strength would help ameliorate the problem. An integrated manufacture of the slider body including the bail and lock eyelet, along with additional support structure for the lock eyelet would further help achieve this end.
Additionally, a pull design that releases under predetermined force levels so as to preserve the integrity of the rest of the zipper and yet is easily reparable with original parts is also desirable.
Pull designs are disclosed in Aoki et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,615 (Aoki); Minami, U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,434 (Minami); and Jackson, U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,497 (Jackson), all of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Aoki discloses a slider body having a pull tab support, such that the pull tab can be removed and attached quickly by using a resilient V shaped retainer to secure the pull tab to the pull tab support.
Minami discloses a slider body fastener that is thinned in the body of the pull tab making the pull tab flexible. This design enhances safety aspects by lessening the chance of injury from the pull tab.
Jackson discloses a separable zipper pull tab that comprises a hook piece that inserts within the cavity of the pull tab, said hook piece frangibly secured to the pull tab such that when sufficient force is applied to the zipper, the hook piece detaches from the pull tab. Modular repair requires new parts or the application of adhesives. Jackson requires the introduction of either a shear pin, retaining clip or adhesive to secure the hook piece to the pull tab. As noted above, the bail and lock eyelet are particularly subject to failure at common usage levels of force.
Another embodiment described in Jackson has a non-secured, free end of a connecting arm of the hook yield so that the end of the connecting arm will disengage from the pull tab cavity. Under this condition the hook piece would have to be removed in order to implement repair. The hook piece, if reused, has been deformed thus lowering the separation force threshold.
In the traditional design, when the pull tab is separated from the slider body most of the time the failure occurs at the slider body. This requires replacement or repair of the entire zipper or slider body, incurring more cost than simply replacing the pull tab. Modular replacement of a pull tab requires multiple steps and new parts or materials to implement a repair. If a component of the slider body breaks, such as at the bail, the ability to implement modular repair of the pull tab is not meaningful.
Traditionally there are three different methods to secure (lock) a zipper opening when using a shackled type pad lock or combination lock. The first method, two zipper slider bodies are equipped with openings in their respective pullers to receive the shackle of a lock. The two slider bodies come together from opposite directions. When close enough, the shackle of the lock is inserted into the two opposing puller openings.
The drawback to this first method is that the pullers do not lie flatly against the zipper when the lock is installed and shackled. In the locked position the shackle forces the pullers, as well as the lock, to extend upward, away from the flat surface area of the zipper opening. While in this attitude the pullers and lock are positioned in a way that perpetuates damage to the lock, pullers, slider bodies, zipper and the product to which the zipper is attached.
Damage occurring in this mode results in major, expensive repairs to the product. In extreme cases the owner is forced to discard and replace the entire product. Further, the zipper slider bodies are positioned or parked anywhere on the zipper opening. Extra security or reinforcement to the product or zipper seam cannot be localized due to the slider bodies winding up in various locations on the zipper opening.
In the second method, two zipper slider bodies equipped with lock eyelets designed so that the shackle of a lock can be inserted through opposing, aligned eyelets. The two slider bodies come together from opposing directions and allow the eyelets to overlap creating a loop or hole the lock shackle can be inserted. While the pullers lay flatter, the lock itself is forced upward away from the flat surface area of the zipper opening and the product""s surface. When subjected to this attitude the lock is positioned in a way that damage to the lock, slider body, zipper and the product to which the zipper is attached is still likely.
Further, like the first method, the slider bodies may be positioned anywhere along the stringers. Extra security or reinforcement to the product or zipper seam cannot be localized due to the slider bodies winding up in various locations on the zipper opening.
In the third method, the product itself is fitted with a square loop, round ring or a D-ring. Theses rings or loops are attached to the product by means of a webbing or strap like material that is stitched directly into a seam where the zipper terminates. This device is a lock receptacle. A single zipper slider body equipped with a puller that has an opening or a lock eyelet is positioned at the terminus, i.e. zipped closed. The lock shackle is inserted through the opening provided by puller or lock eyelet and the ring""s opening. When locked, the zipper slider body is secured to the ring at a reinforced location.
This method allows the puller to lay flatter. Further, the lock can be parked in an area where the least amount of damage can occur. Extra security or reinforcement to the product or zipper seam is localized using this method. However, since the lock is forced upward away from the flat surface area of the zipper opening, damage may occur. However, the lock and puller being pitched upward is still prone to damage that may create major repair or replacement cost. Further, a slider body lock eyelet coupled with a round ring or D-ring sacrifices strength compared to joining two slider body lock eyelets.
What is needed is a strengthened zipper that resists fracture or separation and, if excessive forces are applied to the zipper, a release needs to occur at the point of easiest repair so as to prevent damage to the other zipper components and to the product to which the zipper is attached. Further, a locking system where the lock lays flat would help avoid damage precipitated by a lock that is positioned off of the surface of the product being secured. Use of a lock receptacle at a reinforced location is also desirable.
Utilizing a lock that releases when under stress before the slider body lock eyelet fractures is also desirable. Replacing a released or fractured lock instead of having to replace the zipper system or event the product attached to the zipper system is more cost effective. If there is to be damage, it is preferred that the damage be localized to the lock or some easily repaired, inexpensive component of the locking system.
In the event there is some damage, a simple, inexpensive repair executable by the consumer with a common household tool and without the need of a sewing machine or additional materials such as shear pins, retention clips or adhesive is preferred. A simple repair system facilitates quick service for the traveling public at travel centers such as airports where luggage sellers can also implement a repair inexpensively and with minimum delay. Retailers at travel centers, luggage repair shops and luggage shops can maintain a supply of modular pullers and pull tab connector pieces, thus affording quick and inexpensive zipper system repair.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pull tab design in which a pull tab connector secures attachment between a pull tab and to a zipper slider body such that if undue stress is applied, the pull tab link will release before any material damage to the zipper or the product to which the zipper is attached such as a sports bag or luggage. The term xe2x80x9cproductxe2x80x9d is used in this description to mean the object to which the zipper or zipper system is attached.
It is still another object of the present invention for the pull tab connector to release from the pull tab at a predetermined force.
It is yet another object of the present invention for the pull tab connector to release from the pull tab at a static force of 100 pounds.
It is another object of the invention to provide an economical and simple method of restoring a released pull tab link rather than replacing the entire pull tab or replacing or repairing the slider body or zipper.
It is yet another object of this invention to implement a repair of a released pull tab link with a single operation.
It is still another object of this invention to repair a broken pull tab of a slider body system of another design with the pull tab of the present invention.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an economical and convenient design for manufacturing a zipper pull tab that accomplishes the goals described herein.
It is yet another object of the present invention to strengthen the slider body.
It is still another object of the present invention to strengthen the slider body bail.
It is another object of the present invention to strengthen the lock eyelet by integrating the lock eyelet with the bail thus strengthening both components of the slider body.
It is yet another object of the present invention to strengthen the diamond and slider body by integrating a bracing with the lock eyelet, bottom platform, top platform and diamond.
It is another object of the present invention for any component of the slider body to withstand a force of 100 pounds without failing.
It is another object of the present invention to have a slider body locking system where two slider bodies are employed each with an lock eyelet that when the two opposing lock eyelets are aligned a lock may be applied across the eyelets and further, the eyelets are each offset from center such that the eyelets dock in a flush manner.
It is still a further object of the present invention to have a slider body locking system where there is a slider body lock eyelet and a seam lock eyelet such when the slider body lock eyelet is aligned with the seam lock eyelet a lock may be applied across the eyelets. Further, the eyelets are each offset from center such that the eyelets dock in a flush manner, thus allowing the securing lock to lie flat.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the zipper slider body is optionally produced from a unitized die cast zinc alloy. The bail, the arch at the top rear of the slider body platform (note: the term xe2x80x9cplatformxe2x80x9d is used as a synonym of xe2x80x9cplatexe2x80x9d), is cast in a closed position thus strengthening the bail. In another embodiment, the lock eyelet, the eyelet at the top front of the slider body, shares a common wall with the bail thus it is reinforced. A lock eyelet bracing, located in the front and beneath the eyelet is integrated with and protrudes from the front of the slider body provides additional strength. In another embodiment, the bracing is integrated with the lower diamond of the slider body as well as with the lock eyelet, the slider body top platform and the lower slider body platform. This greatly strengthens the entire slider body.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the pull tab is comprised of two pieces, a pull tab and pull tab connector. The connector is shaped substantially like the Greek letter Omega. The pull tab is optionally die cast zinc alloy. It has a cavity to receive the connector. Bore holes are present in the sidewalls of the pull tab. The connector clip is constructed from highly resilient material selected from the group of materials including spring steel, carbon fiber composite, fiber reinforced plastics, aluminum, titanium, copper beryllium and alloys or mixtures. The circular face of the clip encircles the rear bail leg. The legs of the Omega clip are compressed into the cavity of the pull tab. Channels in the pull tab cavity receive and guide the pull connector. Small angled appendages at the base of each connector leg, referred to as ears, slide down the interior channels of the pull tab cavity, guided to bore holes at either side of the pull tab cavity. Once aligned, the ears firmly position into the bore holes and the pull tab is securely fastened to the slider body bail via the connector. Upon force, the resilient connector flexes. At a predetermined force, a release occurs. To repair, the Omega connector and pull tab are reused. A new pull tab can be used to restore the pull tab connection to its original strength.
Other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those skilled in the art upon making reference to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.